About
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for optimizing teaching and learning by building in flexibility that allows all students to succeed. It includes principles of accessibility but is aimed at increasing inclusivity by designing curricula to meet the diverse needs of all types of learners including students with disabilities.
Application for Teaching and Learning
Revising or developing course content for the online modality is an excellent opportunity to consider principles and practices of UDL.
To learn more about UDL: Article on 47 things about UDL
Steps for Implementation
- Asynchronous courses lend themselves particularly well to flexibility and variety of presentation. You can record short lectures with captions. You might post a slide deck that students can access on their own. You may choose to reference links to materials online that students can access via their browser (and screenreader if needed.)
- Student choice for assignments can also be built into your courses. Student may have the option to participate in a discussion board with a written posting, an audio recording, or a video recording.
- You can also offer flexibility in summative assessments. You can give students the option to show their progress with a choice of quiz, portfolio, or project based assessment.
For the basic steps of incorporating UDL into your materials, see our resource on First Steps for Curriculum Developers and Teachers.
Additional Resources
Distance learning UDL: Article “Real Connections: Making Distance Learning Accessible to Everyone”
Learn more and connect: The Center on Accessible Distance Learning
Teaching an accessible online course: 20 tips
Image Source
Photo by Josefa nDiaz on Unsplash
